The number of bathrooms existing in American households has increased. Of the privately owned single-family houses completed in 1995, only 11% had just 11/2 bathrooms or less, compared to 13% of the homes built in 1990 and 27% of those built in 1980. Of the homes completed in 1995, 41% had two bathrooms, and another 48% had more than two bathrooms.
In addition to the increased number of bathrooms now being built in American households, there is also a clear trend in constructing bathrooms that are more luxurious. For example, today's master bathrooms typically include a whirlpool bath that is separate and apart from an enclosed shower. It is not uncommon for Americans to have saunas, whirlpool baths, exercise equipment and other luxuries in their bathrooms. As a result, it has sometimes become more difficult to bathe for physically challenged or elder individuals who may have difficulty moving in a shower stall. A solution to this problem exists in converting a faucet or existing shower head into a flexible and extendable shower head.
Several devices for converting a faucet into a movable and extendable shower head exists in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,279,006, issued to Rose, discloses a device that can be readily applied to or detached from a standard bathtub fixture which affords a full and effective shower. The device includes a flexible tube adapted to connect to a bathtub faucet on one end and a shower head on the other. Straps are placed around both ends of the flexible hose and secured to the faucet and shower head, respectively, by screws and thumb nuts. A rigid arm separates the bands and functions to mount the shower head in different positions. The bands, straps, and all other parts, except for the flexible tube, are made of sheet metal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,919, issued to Knapp, describes a hand-held shower head for domestic sinks having a tubular handle member connected to the water supply via flexible piping. Although this patent does not describe means for connecting the flexible pipe to a water supply, this patent reference does disclose a hand-held shower head that can be used with a faucet and residential sink that is adapted for low supply water pressure and particularly for a water supply through a simplified diverter valve.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,362, issued to Chianco et al., discloses a sit-down shower for children which includes a sleeve adaptor that fits over a bathtub's tap and a rigid and self-supporting tubing extending from the adapter which projects the shower water to a movable shower head that is connected to the far end of the rigid tubing. The rigid tube forms a one-piece plastic molded unit with the adaptor and the adaptor may be clamped on the faucet with a conventional clamp.
Although the general concept of converting a faucet into an extendable and movable shower head does exist as evidenced by the above described patents, there is a need for an apparatus for converting a faucet or existing shower head to a hand-held shower head which can accommodate any type or size of faucet and which can be easily secured to, and removed from, the faucet. In addition, there is a need for a simple and low-cost device which converts any type or size of faucet or existing shower head into a hand-held shower without leaking. Such a device should be able to be easily manipulated by children, physically handicapped individuals, and the elderly.